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Mozilla's modernized Firefox 29 browser has been heavily criticized by users since it was released on April 29. Users say that without a way to revert to the old browser, this update may force them to switch to new programs entirely.

Unlike in previous versions of Firefox, the new browser shares many design elements with slimmed down programs like Google Chrome. Although users are attacking the overall design, they are not criticizing some of the features included in Firefox 29, like the Enhanced Firefox Sync. This feature lets users easily transfer their Firefox features -- including their settings, their histories, their bookmarks and more -- from one device to another.

A Bad Design

The overwhelming response to the design change has been negative, based on NewsFactor's coverage of the update. Users feel Firefox has pushed the type of design on them that they have been trying to avoid. Firefox 29 may include some great features, but the design changes that people must interact with every day do not seem as good.

Even though the update is not automatic -- users have the option to install it -- the shock that is associated with the design change has only made things worse for Mozilla.

Andy, one of the users who responded to NewsFactor's coverage, pointed out that some of the changes don't seem to work with a desktop PC. "The whole 'toytown' look and feel simply doesn't work on a desktop PC. Significant areas of customization have been removed (there's no way to configure a proper menu bar, for example) and the add-ons that are supposed to restore the previous UI don't work," Andy said.

Other comments, such as "this update is terrible," make it clear that users are not happy with the direction that Mozilla is taking. A robust browser with numerous customization features is what Firefox users want and are used to, but that is not what they feel Firefox 29 is providing.

More Complaints To Come

Given the feedback that users have provided to Mozilla over the past two weeks, you would assume that the company would be trying to make things right wherever possible. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case, as Firefox may soon come with ads.

Users were concerned in February when Mozilla took to its blog to explain that the "new tab" page would potentially include "sponsored content from hand-picked partners." Mozilla Firefox VP Johnathan Nightingale has now responded to those concerns by stating that Firefox will not be turned into a jumbled mess of advertisements, but that does not mean there will not be sponsored content.

To start, the Firefox team is experimenting with new types of non-sponsored content that can be shown whenever someone opens a new tab. If that experiment goes well, Nightingale said that the team will then consider sponsored content.

When taking online classes I changed to Firefox because it was flawless when working with Blackboard at the college. Windows would lock up and cause the user a big headache. Well guess what? The very reason I loaded Firefox is the very reason I'm uninstalling it now --- THEY BLEW IT!

End of day:

Posted: 2014-11-03 @ 12:34pm PT

I agree 100% to what you say "t31os".
I get pissed off every time I visit Firefox website, and see that they have not taken the criticism from the users at all, just like they don't care at all what we userS think.

"Firefox v29 and above sucks!"

t31os:

Posted: 2014-11-03 @ 11:41am PT

Still using FF28. I refuse to adapt to the new and counter-intuitive UI, the old UI was a huge reason for me using Firefox and i'm not about to install 5+ add ons just to try and badly simulate what I get now without any.

Ads in the new tab page, lol... it's as if they're trying to push me away from Firefox. The day I start seeing ads in the actual browser is the day they'll lose me as a user (I've been using it since the very early days - many years now). Frankly I don't care how unobtrusive they try to make it, those ads will never generate any revenue from me and I don't want to see them. So if you force them on me, I'll choose another browser, simple really.

I'll be checking out some of the alternative Firefox-based browsers suggested in the comments, I just wish it hadn't come to this. What a shame it is, after all the years I stuck by them. :(

Andy:

Posted: 2014-10-21 @ 7:33am PT

I can't move the refresh button? I am not an Apple user. I am an intelligent person who values his freedom. I thought that's what firefox stood for. Freedom to choose how to browse. I am very disappointed. GOODBYE FIREFOX!

FF User:

Posted: 2014-10-06 @ 11:12am PT

By now, FF29 is old news. It's been upgraded by several versions since. I'd recommend updating your FireFox browser at Mozilla (https://www.mozilla.org). It's free, of course, and will fix the issues you've mentioned.

Skiffy:

Posted: 2014-10-06 @ 10:57am PT

FF29 is really poor. Doesn't work well with SharePoint sites, and had to find a fix for that. Then I started getting errors for sites with javascript and had to find the fix for that. Interestingly enough, this entire website (www.toptechnews.com) is no longer available via Firefox...

Anon Emouse:

Posted: 2014-08-30 @ 12:55am PT

Why the heck would ANYONE want to repeatedly move their mouse a further distance (from the general central area of a webpage) over and over when choosing different TABs throughout the day with "TABs on Top" -- it's asinine. Multiply that by hundreds of days and the time to move the mouse further over and over and over would add up to HOURS. And yet software idiots say things like "autocomplete" "saves seconds". But fundamentally, how can any software team in their right mind *remove* native customization capability, repeatedly, from a product. My point is not that Firefox can't be EXTERNALLY "customized" by 3rd party add-ons, but I want to expose their inexperience and non-listening attitude. Arrogance = Mozilla = less market share.

Edward:

Posted: 2014-08-13 @ 5:07pm PT

Firefox is not Chrome and Microsoft is not Apple. Why would you want to become junk?
The best was Firefox, not Chrome and not Apple.

Juan:

Posted: 2014-08-07 @ 6:17pm PT

Firefox is screwed up. I've now switched to Chrome.

Jack:

Posted: 2014-08-05 @ 6:32pm PT

This is why I use Palemoon...

Flo:

Posted: 2014-07-26 @ 12:07am PT

I tried to like the new Firefox but it's extremely disappointing. It took 8 add-ons just to get a proper layout. It hangs, lurches and typing in a textbox is torture as my keyboard leaves the claret 3 or 4 words behind. I still have my regular add-ons to install so it's going to get worse. I'll stick with Firefox 28 until I find a suitable replacement.

Marq:

Posted: 2014-07-22 @ 5:27am PT

Hello Pale Moon.
This long-term Firefox user finally decided to update to the best version yet.
And Pale Moon proves to be quiet, quick, user friendly, what a breeze of fresh air!
Even my older addons work properly again.

Happy browsing days are here again.

Al:

Posted: 2014-07-18 @ 5:51pm PT

Goodbye, Firefox. I was with you when you were Firebird. But you've changed and not in a good way. Love my new browser, Comodo Dragon.

joe:

Posted: 2014-06-27 @ 7:43pm PT

What a joke. The 2 most used buttons on a web browser are the Back button and the Reload button.

The designers of Firefox 29 decided to put the buttons on OPPOSITE sites of the tool bar with NO way to change them.

Even Chrome has them right next to each other. Why? Its basic "human factor" engineering 101. And quite frankly, the designers of FF 29 look like rank amateurs who have a lack of the most basic education.

Dickot:

Posted: 2014-06-27 @ 9:01am PT

v30 is the worst yet. I use FF on a Mac because i hate Safari, but now v30 wont open a flat html file if it is more than 3MB. Hangs forever.
Back to Safari - and IE on my Windoz systems...

Hornchurch:

Posted: 2014-06-26 @ 8:24am PT

Firefox 29 is seriously crap.

Those tossers responsible for the 'upgrade' should be ashamed of themselves.... OR, be (so) pleased that they managed to seriously piss-off so many people in just one foul swoop, that folks WILL just drift-off elsewhere.

Perhaps THAT was the intention in the first place ?

Well done you dopey Firefox clownzzzzzz

Tonia:

Posted: 2014-06-17 @ 10:05pm PT

Well surprise...ff 30 isn't any better. If anything is seems to be worse. Hanging is the new name. Have absolutely no problems in explorer so that tells me its a ff issue. I stuck it out through 29, and now that I see 30 is no better I'm out. As for it being free...yes, and you know what they all are. Who the heck pays for a browser? Fact of the matter is even with ads on other browsers I don't have the hanging issues I'm having with ff. It's a shame too, have been with ff for years.

Dave:

Posted: 2014-06-17 @ 12:25pm PT

All I can say is...THANK YOU PALE MOON!!!

Vince:

Posted: 2014-06-15 @ 2:15pm PT

It really takes a long time to start up now. And it's even less compatible with the add-ons I like to use than previous versions!

Nemanja:

Posted: 2014-06-13 @ 4:19am PT

Worst incarnation of browser yet. :( Been using it since v0.6. Its annoys the living out of me.

Linux Chick:

Posted: 2014-06-12 @ 10:06am PT

I have been a FF user since v2xxx.

My fresh install of Xubuntu 14.04 came with FF v29. Having to install half a dozen addons to restore what was lost is annoying enough, but it isn't quite back to what I am used to. It's awkward, and unintuitive.

Many FF problems come from too many addons. Why take away features and force users to install even more addons just to replace those lost features? There was NO reason for all these changes other than cosmetic- to mimic Chrome.

Last night I installed Pale Moon. Yes Virginia- there IS a Linux version of this. It's like one of the older and better FF versions. It's comfortable and familiar, and I can customise it the way I want. So far I am liking it a LOT, and I can use all my usual extensions.

I also installed SeaMonkey, but haven't had a chance to play with it yet. It reminds me of a very early version of FF, but it's worth trying out. All I know is I cannot abide with FF v29, and unless there are some drastic changes I am done with it for good.

Duke M.:

Posted: 2014-06-11 @ 9:58am PT

I had a TERRIBLE problem with YouTube on Firefox 29. It froze on almost every video. I finally solved it by: Go to Tools—add ons— click plugins on the left. Choose ‘never activate’ on all of them. That should fix your YouTube problem. Worked for me. I had four plugins, don’t know which one was the culprit. Mac OS X Firefox 29.

Firefox has always been a layout disaster and it has been astonishing how they built a fan base with such sub-standard product. v29 makes no difference. If you come from Safari as I do there is no way Firefox will ever convince me. No customization possible, add-ons required to change what should be standard settings (tabs position!) which then don't work. Thanks but no thanks.

QuittingMozilla:

Posted: 2014-06-08 @ 7:52pm PT

Dear Mozilla...

You fooked up, its bad. You are trying to be edgy and it fails. Revert back to the older style that makes logical sense.

V. Uil:

Posted: 2014-06-08 @ 8:04am PT

Just change to Pale Moon a sensible rational browser alternative to FF29. (And it further distances me from the avaricious - do some evil - Google)

I did and I am happy to get the old FF back. If you like it donate a few dollars (as I have done) to support it.

It is at palemoon.org. The only sadness is that it is Windows specific.

Drake Jones:

Posted: 2014-06-08 @ 5:54am PT

Just try posting criticism of the ChromeFox (FF29) to the Mozilla site and the smug little guys will tell you how stupid you are. The current crop of Firefox developers are adolescent minded gamers that don't date and are unjustifiably arrogant to a degree not seen since the release of Windows 8.

nic rayner:

Posted: 2014-06-07 @ 11:55pm PT

One point you have got wrong is about users being able to choose. That is not so, it will automatically update to v29 regardless of the setting the use has

Mziller:

Posted: 2014-06-06 @ 12:36pm PT

Although I do not like the interface I was prepared to get used to it and live with it. FF 29.1 had other ideas and has forced me to look elsewhere. As a freelance writer I use a browser for research and tend to have numerous tabs open. Within hours of installing FF 29.1 (Windows 7 64bit 4Gb ram) it crashed. This has happened on a regular basis even with only two tabs open and is something I have not experienced with other versions.

It meant I had to bookmark a page as soon as it was opened or, in some cases, when it eventually opened. This was extremely frustrating as they may be pages of no value. Fortunately I still had the setup file for FF28 saved on an external drive so I have reinstalled that and am using it for the time being.

I have downloaded Pale Moon and will give that a fair trial over the next week or so. Very sad to resort to this having been a keen and supportive user of Firefox for the past decade or so even recommending it to others whenever possible. Sadly I cannot live with the constant crashing and I do not have the time to try all of the work rounds suggested on various Mozilla forums in order to overcome the problem of the crashes.

Serpentor:

Posted: 2014-06-06 @ 8:45am PT

Google OWNS Firefox, they've been intentionally destroying FF for years to push everyone onto Chrome in order to streamline their business. Read an article every now and then and use some critical thinking. B*tching for the sake of b*tching is pointless. Accept the truth, soon there will be no more FF.

Sunkist:

Posted: 2014-06-05 @ 11:44am PT

Horrible. I started with Netscape and have been a vocal supporter of Mozilla - but this has been a headache from the git-go. The customizations still don't do what I want placing them in other locations like 'add tab' - what was wrong with a simple +. nope- gone! I have been struggling almost daily... All the complaints listed here I agree with. Sign me "NOT a Happy Camper."

Wayne S.:

Posted: 2014-06-05 @ 3:05am PT

Specifically dislike the STAR change on bookmarks. Animated bollocks. I preferred the popup and select WHERE I want the bookmark to go, call me MONK but I like to keep my links organised at the onset...

Joe A.:

Posted: 2014-06-04 @ 5:04am PT

Firefox 29 has been giving me incessant problems since it was installed in two major areas: 1) constant crashes, every couple of days, and 2) it stops being able to find web pages for up to several minutes at a time, at least a couple of times per day (and not minor sites, either - I mean big sites like Google, Amazon and Yahoo). I'm going to try my best to back out back to 28, but I'm also going to keep alternatives like Palemoon in reserve. This is the most disappointed I've been with Firefox since I started using it as my main browser over a decade ago.

Serp:

Posted: 2014-06-04 @ 3:44am PT

Just switch to Pale Moon, it's by the team that did Fire Fox before it got taken over and became a sell out.

palemoon.org should take you to it, if not google to find it.

I still have regular firefox on my PC, and I use it for a few things that I have cookies for that I want separate from my main browsing. It's just easier to have multiple browsers for security. I don't bother using Chrome at all anymore.

For Firefox you will need the classic theme restorer and a couple of other plugins, but who knows what they will break next.

I may end up just using Pale Moon and maybe switch back to Chrome for a few things. Or maybe I'll just use Pale Moon alone.

A note to make is I'm running 64 bit, but 32 bit is indeed usually a bit quicker and more compatible. I have had no issues though so it's fine for my purposes. I only use Ad Block Edge and pretty much nothing else anyway.

co:

Posted: 2014-06-04 @ 12:30am PT

I saw some ridiculous fanboy, no matter what change Mozilla did, they just say "good" or "ok". They don't have any thinking or any personal principle, don't care about Customization, they just enjoy ****, that's really suck.

Keith Y:

Posted: 2014-06-03 @ 12:57am PT

I do not like ver 29.01. Also back to hanging on close like an earler version. 28 was much better. Looking at other browsers now.

JC:

Posted: 2014-06-02 @ 12:36pm PT

In my personal experience, FF 29 is slow, glitchy, and confusing. I downloaded FF 24.5ESR, which has all the security patches without the "improvements". If they move Australis onto the ESR channel, then it's off to Pale Moon for me.

haggis:

Posted: 2014-06-01 @ 5:01pm PT

The firefox upgrade was so poor
I just couldn't take any more
So I switched to chrome
And now I can roam
The web much better than before !

philby:

Posted: 2014-06-01 @ 2:28pm PT

sponsored content?? well then it's good-bye firefox, hello pale moon!

Gary Lockley:

Posted: 2014-06-01 @ 8:34am PT

FF29 sucks and Mozilla is not listening to its users; bad approach guys. I've been with Mozilla since the first release of Phoenix but this is the last straw for me. Mozilla apparently favors quantity over quality and that, among other things, will ruin them. It has already for me. If I had wanted Chrome, I've have gotten the real thing and not some half-baked, ill conceived, poorly written, sneaky knockoff that FF29 is. I simply refuse to spend time trying to fix what Mozilla broke. We reverted to FF28, disabled auto updating and let Mozilla know how we felt.

anon:

Posted: 2014-06-01 @ 12:29am PT

Firefox 29 keep crashing. And it's much slower than Google Chrome. I hope they fix it's flaws in the next release.

micsa9@gmail.com:

Posted: 2014-05-31 @ 6:33pm PT

I do not like the new page with arrows bouncing around. Making me think to switch to another browser. At least give me the choice to pick and go back to what I had.

ronkkowski:

Posted: 2014-05-31 @ 6:00pm PT

4 or 5 years ago, firefox was the best, and every update is getting worst, same goes for windows, just because of flash policy in apple but i guess apple will be the best option now !!

Tom:

Posted: 2014-05-31 @ 4:49pm PT

Firefox 29.0.1 is my first "BAD EXPERIENCE" with Mozilla. I've loyally loved Firefox as my sole browser for years, (on all my macs), but now this version requires frequent "force-quits" throughout my workday. Please fix it!

ChuckZilla:

Posted: 2014-05-30 @ 1:39am PT

@Greg,

You raise some good points there. Believe me, we agree more than you think even though it may not be directly apparent in this discussion here :].

Maybe my experience is an anomaly. Who knows. Definitely, I remember a time not too long ago when fox performance was really sub-par, to put it lightly. And yet I couldn't switch. Just love the freedom and ability to customize too much. Not to mention the security and ethos. Big fan of that. What can I say, I'm an easy-going guy, I'm pretty forgiving.

But again, the freeze is such a recurring theme, I'm just wondering what setup you all have got. My machines are nothing special hardware wise. All my colleagues have systems that would leave mine in the dust. And yet I do not experience the problems described here? And for quite a while (last few versions at least) now. I really can't see that changing anytime soon (the irony aye :]). But time (or one bad extension) will tell.

So again, I'm just wondering what setup folks that experience, in particular the freezing/locking problems have. I'm interested in solutions. It's what I do.

I dunno, maybe my experience is an anomaly. I can confirm though I have at least a few other colleagues I work with as well as other friends that are happy with their experience. It may just be that most who do not experience these issues generally just don't speak up and hence the majority of voices (from those experiencing) problems could be skewing the data somewhat.

I would like to hear of more positive experiences though. More importantly what is setting their experience apart.

Funnily enough, I'm on the Nightly channel and got this current version (Australis--now THAT is an unfortunate name :]. What does that even mean? Oh well.) was rolled out. While it did crash a lot, it was no where near as bad as previous versions. I can recall I think 22/24 was particularly bad. For me at least, I think the guys at Mozilla are listening and improving. What can you do though when you don't have monstrous budgets to work with, when folks (no pot-shots here) will only criticize and yet do not even offer a single penny in support for development? Oh well.

Anyway,

All the best.

Greg:

Posted: 2014-05-29 @ 4:23pm PT

I have used FF exclusively for years now, the design changes...meh...couldn't care less. But as one who develops online and does much research, with many tabs often, FF has NEVER hung on me like this one does. To you nay-sayers out there, just wait...you're next.

For the last three days in a row now I've lost all the tabs I was working because alas, FF 29.0.1 does freeze and there's no way I've found to unfreeze it.

I agree that FF has the right to make changes and do whatever they wish to the browser. This is not complaining, complaining, complaining as some say. This is warning, warning, warning. If FF wants to start running sponsored ads in new windows fine, but if the browser does not perform it will make little difference how much ad revenue they generate when people migrate away. It has nothing to do with accepting change. It has everything to do with performance. If people didn't accept change as a good thing, we'd all be in DOS.

Fix the Freeze, FF!

al:

Posted: 2014-05-28 @ 1:26pm PT

Have been with this browser since it was called Firebird. My suggestion to FF is that it listens to the complaints. I, for one, am ready to migrate away from it.

Natalie:

Posted: 2014-05-28 @ 10:03am PT

All I know is that my firefox crashes almost daily since I've upgraded.

ChuckZilla:

Posted: 2014-05-28 @ 3:24am PT

"In the future, I will read 3rd party feedback and only then will I try the latest less 1" --Andy Tribe.

See, therein lies a huge part of the problem. Instead of testing the browser, running benchmarks etc. and coming to YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT CONCLUSIONS, folks rely on hearsay; oft reckless-herd-mentality-opinion and just generally bad information (not referencing this post in particular just generally speaking). This is the type of stuff that causes myths to be perpetuated. Very unfortunate that.

With so much criticism and a seeming "entitlement" complex going on, I'm just wondering how many hardline critics have actually contributed financially (however small) or in code/programming efforts to the project...

I know we all love the fox (or used to) else folks passions wouldn't be ignited in such a fashion. But man, dang, we gotta do better than just criticize, and well basically nothing else constructive. There's already enough BS being perpetuated out there.

Anyway, back to work!

Stay cool Zillians!

Oh, one more thing: with the issues some of y'all are claiming to have, I'm just wondering what your setup is or what OS/platform you all are using. Personally on this side, I run the fox ~90% on Linux (Fedora and 'Buntu) and approx. 10% on Win7. My Linux box is i5 with 16GB memory. Windoze (Ha! just foolin, lighten up will ya! :-]) an older gen processor with 4GB ram. On both machines, I have very, very few issues. Nothing out of the norm and certainly none of the stuff I constantly read and hear. And as I stated earlier I have a helluva lot of extensions/plugins I run not to mention all the tabs and customization!!

When I read the majority of the comments, wow, man it's true: folks really ARE averse to change. Can't live in the past forever. Sometimes you gotta embrace change or perhaps more importantly be ready to adapt. The alternative is you get left in the dust! This is just growth man.

One thing I definitely agree with though are the Chrome-esque similarities. I do wish FF distinguished itself more on that part. That's one thing I'm not feeling, although I'm mostly over that now. I can never, EVER use Chrome as my day-to-day, only for app-dev + testing purposes and what not. I've got my reasons for this and I'm sure many of y'all probably will have similar reasons for not using Chrome. But I digress... that's a whole other topic altogether :-].

Anyway, again, back to work. Sheesh.

And Andy Tribe, not taking a pot-shot at you either, just that line of thinking represents a lot of what I see out there. And imho it can be very problematic. Basically you can be susceptible to any and all types of garbage.

And no I DO NOT work for Mozilla, just a regular user like you all. Although, if these folks want to hire me, sh*t yo I'M IN!!!

Peace.

Zukrut:

Posted: 2014-05-27 @ 7:10pm PT

Since 2 weeks I am using Palemoon.

Nice! Highly recommended.

casper06067:

Posted: 2014-05-27 @ 8:11am PT

Initially, I did not like the UI of FF 29.1. It looks like Chrome, which I don't like. It appears to use more system resources now than before to run FF. I've also had the experience of FF taking much longer to load than with previous versions.

The first thing I searched for was the available UI rollback, which, after a half hour of :customization, permitted me to recreate something that looks more like the Firefox I recognize. Of course, yesterday, while working in FF, some sort of error message popped up, which called for a total reset of FF. The reset brought me back to the ugly, original 29.1 screen. That required me to go through the entire customization process all over again. If this happens once more, I will switch to Comodo Ice Dragon, which I've used before. It's built from an earlier FF that we all recognize and like.

I appreciate that FF is free to use and as such means that users can't really complain too much with new changes. Still, this latest update isn't as nice as previous versions. I'm all for upgrades that improve security, however, I prefer the general layout to be more seamless and recognizable. I'm not a fan of Chrome or Chrome look-alikes. In the end, I believe that Mozilla has the right to create FF in any form or fashion that they please. If this is the future of FF, I will simply try something else as my primary browser.

BlastermanTX:

Posted: 2014-05-27 @ 6:28am PT

I hate Firefox 29, too. I've been a Firefox user since almost the beginning. If there isn't a significant update to restore the former "look and feel" of the old Firefox GUI, I am going to revert to using IE :-(

Andy Tribe:

Posted: 2014-05-27 @ 5:46am PT

I have tried version 29.01 twice and with some difficulty I am back with 28. I do not know why about:cofig allows one to set "tabs on top" to false. The option appears but does not work. Only once I am told by someone I trust will I go back to try 29.

It's like forcing people to drive on the right when historically the left is what we are used to and a lot safer. I have not had enough exposure with 29 to see other issues. In the future, I will read 3rd party feedback and only then will I try the latest less 1.

Steve M:

Posted: 2014-05-26 @ 10:50am PT

The new firefox version 29.01 is bad. Jerky, unresponsive, freezes, crashes.

JjCanada!:

Posted: 2014-05-26 @ 4:04am PT

Firefox 29 has died people. Looks like chrome now. I hate it! However here is the fix: download and install Comodo IceDragon. It's the same as the old Firefox. You can use all your themes and addons from Firefox enjoy!

Phil:

Posted: 2014-05-24 @ 6:32pm PT

Without the old full customization Firefox 29.1, is just “another more of the same: Chrome, IE” etc. After nearly a decade of loyalty I must look for another browser. However, for now I will keep using FF 28.0 till Mozilla regain its wits and incorporates in FF29's new design all the wonderful options and customization capacity that made FF better and friendlier than the rest of the flock. Improve it or goodbye…

OREO:

Posted: 2014-05-23 @ 3:18pm PT

I hate the so called new FF29-it keeps crashing and does not work like the old one, bring back the old 18 ver-at least that one worked great!

ChuckZilla:

Posted: 2014-05-23 @ 1:57am PT

Man, FOSS folks are some of the craziest critics. Always criticizing. Criticizing all the time.

Come on guys really, 'tis not that bad. And I've using FFOX since 3.5/6 or so! Never switched! Through all it's negative press BS and all that !

I keep hearing stuff like FFOX keeps locking up crashing, slow (A MYTH) etc. etc. yak yak bla bla bla.. and yet I never experience these problems even with all the tabs and plugins I run...

Guys, come on, quit drinking all that negative PR kool-aid out there.

~Bob:

Posted: 2014-05-22 @ 7:36pm PT

I'm searching for an alternative after 10 years. This is the New Coke of browsers. A foolish, foolish move to ruin what was a great product.

Jottum:

Posted: 2014-05-21 @ 3:28am PT

The first thing I did - after the initial shock faded away - was to search the net for an alternative. I've found Pale Moon. Give it a shot, it's FF 28 but better and faster. You can download a small program from the Pale Moon website to import all your FF settings etc. (pmmig.exe) It will use all your add-ons without a problem.

None Your Business:

Posted: 2014-05-20 @ 5:24am PT

I HATE THIS! My bookmarks is no longer on top tool bar-nothing is. When I click for the only option, which is side tool bar, they'll come up but NONE will open the webiste which I saved!!!!! I NEEEEEEEEED those! I'm considering changing from Firefox

Chris Evers:

Posted: 2014-05-19 @ 12:04pm PT

It's one of the first times I put a comment on a website but here I feel I need to! I've been using FF for the past decade, and I wouldn't switch it for anything else... until this 29th release! I started having troubles with several web sites recently (in the past few months) and wondered about it, but now it has become sooooo sloow and so! not user friendly, it's horrific.
It's like they would read hear and read what all the users want (good features implementation and rendering, light, fast and user friendly - FF way) and decide to make all the opposit recently! It's like they want to lose their user share as fast as possible, increasing the already existing trend... So sad.
I just downloaded Opera and plan to use it as more than a test browser (I'm a web developer) for the first time, hoping to get those sidebar tabs (important to me) as well... Just my 2 cents complaint, Please Mozilla hear it.

chad:

Posted: 2014-05-18 @ 6:26pm PT

I have 3 issues with the new Firefox that is seriously making me consider another browser:

1. It's all around performance is worse. Several times a day it freezes/lags when clicking links it never used to, content that used to stream just load infinitely without any progress as well as many other performance downgrades.

2. The interface design was a god awful idea. Who the hell thought locking so many previously customizable icons at opposite ends of the URL bar was a good idea? Thankfully an addon to roll back the UI is available.

3. I wasn't given a choice. I started firefox one day and all of a sudden it auto upgrades and I would have to reinstall/set up all of my current addons/settings to roll back to 28...

cms:

Posted: 2014-05-18 @ 2:02pm PT

This version is horrific. I don't use or need sync so that major effort to do that feature to the exclusion of all else is unforgivable. Tried to customize and once in that screen could not exit out it without closing the whole browser and losing my currently open tabs. What a bust!!

I have chrome it works fine and I will use it instead. Forget Firefox!

Mike.:

Posted: 2014-05-17 @ 10:43pm PT

I've always been pretty laid-back when it comes to FF updates - I've taken any niggles on the chin and found ways to work around them. However, this update was a disaster (for once the negative hyperbole is spot-on!).

Many things I needed were simply not workable after the upgrade to 29.0.1, so I simply reverted back to 28.0, which is where I'll be staying until Mozilla have a serious rethink about the recent changes. With a rapidly shrinking market-share this is the last thing they should be doing.

J. Coleman:

Posted: 2014-05-17 @ 3:57pm PT

I'm spending time on the net trying to find workarounds to the changes made in this new Firefox version. Overall, I find the layout inconvenient and lacking the kinds of detailed customizations that make the browser uniquely designed for each user. The reload button at the far end of the address window? The options menu farther left than that? Terrific menu buttons eliminated? It's a real disappointment. I came here to remove myself from Chrome and Internet Explorer. This version is not doing anything to shore up loyalties. Dear wonderful Mozilla people; keep the back end improvements but incorporate the old features into this new one. Thanks.

idy:

Posted: 2014-05-17 @ 8:47am PT

With v29 FF is slow as a snail, takes ages to start up, ages to download a website, most often freezing with 'not responding' info, videos choppy, etc., etc. And Chrome-like UI is a disaster!

Lags bad:

Posted: 2014-05-17 @ 8:23am PT

Every time I load a page heavy with vid or graphics FF29 lags so bad. I used to be able to scroll with mouse wheel on web pages in older versions. Now after the update it lags lags lags not very happy with it.

Claud:

Posted: 2014-05-16 @ 6:37pm PT

The very thing that I liked of Mozilla Firefox is vanishing little by little: 1) Good contrast of graphics not dimmed flat shh..t 2) reliable Flash video ... it is weeaker than ever at handling it, fills up memory and video gets choooooppppy.. etc etc. Looks that they hired Microsoft or an Apple's Ivy artist.

New2PaleMoon:

Posted: 2014-05-16 @ 5:44pm PT

I hate it. I have loaded Pale Moon on my computers. It is great!

ovitemp:

Posted: 2014-05-16 @ 10:30am PT

I get back to 28. After that I'll look for other browser...

RedFive:

Posted: 2014-05-16 @ 12:15am PT

I can't stand the new v29 update. The Chrome look is a huge turnoff. So far it's very slow and will not shut down about 1 out of 3 times. The process will not close.

For now, I've gone back to Comodo Icedragon because of performance issues with v29. Comodo even stopped at v26. It's faster and I don't have to keep checking my task manager to see if it shut down properly.

I hope Mozilla gets their mess together quick!

Ken:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 5:30pm PT

Not true about the updates. Unless you go out of your way to turn off automatic updates *before* the newest update is installed, it will automagically update itself for you whether you want it or not. It's kind of annoying when a key piece of software decided to radically change on you without notice.

Pale Moon usr:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 3:12pm PT

I forgot to mention that I have been using FF since ver 4 and cannot understand (other than security updates) all the 20+ updates since ver4 except maybe the addition of tabbed browsing..all the other updates have done nothing to improve productivity. I was on the beta channel until ver27 which would not work, no matter how I tried to run it. I even tried to do a fresh install of ver 28 and the ff icon still did not work. I have Opera and don't really care for it as it is too stripped down. I will NEVER use Chrome or IE because of their corporate nature....and I will never use FF again because of their politics.

Pale Moon usr:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 2:42pm PT

I haven't been able to use FF since ver 27. the icon nor the program button won't work (in windows XP that is)
I had to install Pale Moon to post this. I hope Pale moon does not ever use the australis ui. I have ver 29 on my linux Mint box and can compare the two, and I like pale moon much better...not as much screen wasted with pale moon

Mark:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 5:03am PT

I have been a loyal Firefox users since the first beta was released.
I love the customization of Firefox and the huge number of extensions.
Mozilla is killing off Firefox with these constant changes, users are not happy, extension developers are moving to develop Chrome extensions instead because they usually don't get broken with Chrome updates. I personally don't like Chrome or I would have moved to it already but now Mozilla is making Chrome more appealing to me but I still like the old design of Firefox better.
I saved my Firefox profile and installed Pale Moon which I'm very happy with now. Most of the changes in Mozilla rapid releases really don't add anything important to myself, so Pale Moon will work for now and hopefully will not include this new crap UI in future releases. Mozilla will continue to loose more users to Google Chrome if this non-sense doesn't stop.

David-M:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 4:41am PT

I've always used firefox since windows 98. I am now on 8.1 and still using firefox. There is an extension called classic theme restorer which is not bad BUT it has some faults. Some of the features do not work like when you customise it some of the buttons just will NOT stay where you put them. I am so used to certain buttons in a certain place its annoying when you realise its not there anymore. This tells me the new firefox 29 will only allow you to customise so much so i agree they need to look at this.

Tony:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 1:41am PT

@Rimas - why don't you save the rebuttals for your mozilla forum, where it's easier for you to close threads you don't like? You going to defend Chrome 29 on every site on the internet by yourself? ROTFL! ! !

Firefox User:

Posted: 2014-05-15 @ 12:23am PT

Firefox 29 is a stab in the back to many faithful Firefox users. Maybe useless but there is a petition that just started: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bring-back-the-old-firefox-features

Rimas (Mozilla volunteer):

Posted: 2014-05-14 @ 12:40pm PT

FYI: http://images.devs-on.net/Image/7Cppr40C3mOHKzlt-Region.png shows a screenshot of current Firefox beta, and as you can see, you can not only have the menu bar, but even the window title bar perpertually enabled.

Regarding other matters: there is an article in support.mozilla.org, which explains how to restore the old looks by installing the Classic Theme Restorer add-on. From the fact that Mozilla itself points to that add-on, I assume that it must be working.

One last note @Xavon: I understand that tying some buttons to the address bar might be disturbing, but "unusable" sounds like a big overstatement to me.

Rolf_S.:

Posted: 2014-05-14 @ 11:20am PT

I was shocked about this update. I customized the browser to my needs over the years, and did stick with FF for over a decade. I can't understand why Mozilla is forcing the new UI down our throat, it looks really terrible. A lot of buttons/functions are gone altogether. I have now reinstalled version 28 and disabled updates, is that really the solution? For the moment, I use the "Pale Moon" browser which provides the previous look. Very bad decision from Mozilla!

Elaine:

Posted: 2014-05-14 @ 11:17am PT

Have reinstalled FF28 and disabled automatic updates. I had a gorgeous, efficient, and stable installation of FF28. Everything I could possibly need was up at the top of the page in a half-inch of space. FF29 takes 3" of real estate, and it's ugly. Soon as I finish what I'm working on, I'm installing Pale Moon.

Xavon:

Posted: 2014-05-14 @ 6:09am PT

I could live with the appearance, it is not terrible and can be customized with themes. What I cannot live with is what they did to the toolbar. Anchoring the forward/back/refresh buttons to the toolbar is bad, and has made the program unusable. And none of the add-ons I have been able to find fix it. I'm sure in time I will relearn the toolbar, but in the mean time it will mean hours in lost productivity as I hit the wrong button or have to spend time and mental effort to search out which button I wanted.

steve:

Posted: 2014-05-14 @ 4:26am PT

Mozilla is shooting itself in the foot with this copy of Chrome. The only reason I still use it is for Firebug.

ChromaticFox:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 11:59pm PT

For Desktop Firefox 29, the GUI is easy to get used. While I preferred the older GUI, I can live with this one after customizing it to show menus and the other tools that I need when seriously using the browser.

For Android Firefox 29 is a total disaster. It breaks screen orientation. I have upgraded back to Firefox 28, which is still available at http://www.f-droid.org/

Very Dissapointed:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 9:07pm PT

This update IS automatic!! I didn't say for Firefox to update, it went and did it on it's own. Now I'm stuck with this ugly ***ing design and stupid minimalist style. WTF firefox, don't you guys test your updates before releasing them to the public? I mean, that only makes sense right?

Better than You:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:34pm PT

"It is a busy, unrealistic interface which does not work well on desktop PC's and forces the user to learn the browser all over again."

Are you kidding me??
It took me literally 2 minutes to figure out where everything was in the new GUI.
Maybe you don't belong on the computer if you can't figure out the new Firefox.
And your little remark "Does not work well on desktop PC's", explain why it starts up faster for me then? When I'm using a DESKTOP. Don't write reviews if you're technologically challenged.

Personally I like FF 24.

Crooked Windows:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 4:54pm PT

FIREFOX STOP MOVING THE FRONT DOOR

Neuron the Mighty:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 4:03pm PT

Dumped Firefox. Went to Pale Moon. There is no going back, believe me. FF can do what it wants now, I couldn't care less.

They tell you too many addons slow down the browser then tell you to get addons to imitate the old functions. Talk about a psychotic break.

Ian Davidson:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 3:16pm PT

It is unwanted and not helpful. I am sticking with the old version until its no longer supported and then I will wipe it and find another browser. Not another account and log in to remember - get a life guys

a.grey:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 2:55pm PT

awful, just awful.

i'm sticking with FF24 ESR until it devolves into australis... then i'll install 28 and not update until mozilla actually listens to their users. i won't hold my breath.

here's every version of firefox, archived by mozilla:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/

find FF28 (or 24 ESR), or whatever version you like; download, install, then check off "never check for updates".

Matt Moskovitz:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 2:31pm PT

I stopped using chrome after Firefox 29 was released. This is by far the fastest and the best release in my humble opinion. Modern and clean UI along with other great features. I can't ask for more ! Thank you Mozilla Team !

Gus Porter:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 2:30pm PT

I downloaded Firefox 29.1 installed it and whoa!! The GUI was probably the worst I have ever seen in any program, browser or otherwise. It is a busy, unrealistic interface which does not work well on desktop PC's and forces the user to learn the browser all over again. It is certainly not what any Firefox user is used to and will likely force a lot of loyal Firefox users to abandon Firefox for other offerings. If I had wanted to use a browser that looks and feels like a stripped down version of Chrome, I would have started using Chrome. I think the Firefox people better reverse this user interface or they are going to suffer a lot smaller following than they now enjoy.

Kent Miller:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 2:21pm PT

I've been a happy Firefox user/advocate for over 9 years. One of the things that I’ve always loved about Firefox is the flexibility it offered. I could customize it for me. Make it most effective for how I like to work. Firefox used to give users the Freedom to Choose. Sadly, with version 29, that has gone away.

I prefer to rely on text rather than icons. I would rather have text only and no icons. Unfortunately with ver.29 if I want to add any add-on’s to the menu bar, I no longer have a text+icon option. Now I have to scroll across the icon and wait for the text to pop up, an unnecessary time delay.

The most useful Firefox add-on was the Tree Style Tabs. It allowed me to place the tabs in a column on the right side of my browser where they (the text) are easiest to read. Unfortunately, Tree Style Tabs isn’t loading since the ver. 29 update.

It appears that Firefox has taken a page from the Micro$oft playbook ala the damned Ribbon and the laughable OS, Windows 8. "To hell with what power users want, do it our way or get lost".

At least they haven't eliminated the menu bar (text), yet. I would probably have to abandon Firefox completely if they "improve" that away. My computer and by extension, my browser are tools. Stop making choices for me, choices that slow me down. Give me back the Freedom to Choose.

Rob:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 11:44am PT

who cares Firefox is always crashing on me! I stopped using it! you can't open more than 3 Firefox windows or you will be taking a chance of crashing!

Drake Jones:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 11:43am PT

Complete self-indulgence on the part of the Firefox developers. They are giving the arrogance of Microsoft's Windows 8 hot mess a run for its money.

The Palemoon fork of Firefox should make people happy. It works the way we want it to.

GAY FULGHAM:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 10:25am PT

i can't connect with my bank with this new firefox. i want to go back to a precious firefox if possible. i will be using IE as my browser until you get this fixed. this is really a bummer. CHANGE IT BACK!

Aaron:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 9:17am PT

I have not missed FireFox since I dropped it for Opera a month or two ago. I also use Chrome daily.

Terry:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 9:01am PT

Firefox 29 sucks!!! Completely slowed my system with web pages taking 20 min to load! Frequent hang-ups trying to close Firefox 29. Had to shut cptr down because even ctr-alt-del would'nt terminate the program! Uninstalled Firefox 29. Reloaded Firefox 12. Problem solved! Highly recommend everyone dump 29, go to an "old software" dnld site and reinstall the last ver. of Firefox that worked well for you.

Jamie:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:43am PT

I actually prefer the new design and so far, Firefox 29 works a lot faster than my Firefox browser previously. It used to take forever to load the browser or shut down the browser to the point where I'd have to force quit. I use Firefox as a backup browser, so this works perfectly for me.

Jason:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:35am PT

I think the new interface looks nice, maybe not quite as slick as Chrome but certainly much better than the old Firefox. Everything seems to work just fine for me as well -- honestly I'm not sure where all the negativity is coming from.

Gord:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:26am PT

Uninstalled Firefox last month, glad I did.

Wolfy:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:17am PT

"users have the option to install it"

This is simply untrue, many of us turned on our PCs only to find this hideous monstrosity where our Firefox used to be. It has less customisation than before, many buttons and toolbars are locked in place, there's a huge amount of screen wastage due to it, tabs cannot be moved anymore and that horrible, massive menu button at the screen is so badly in the way, and cannot be moved. They've removed icon size options as well, I assume they just threw that in to kick users while they were down, as I can't think of any good reason for it.

Michael:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:04am PT

29 is a messy mess that wrecked most of my addons.

After installing 29 I immediately un-installed it and re-installed v28 and instructed V28 never to look for updates. Fortunately my add-ons were preserved and I did not lose any.

Kelsie Johnson:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 8:02am PT

I HATE it and am looking for another Browser that cares what the users think and want. I can't work with this!

John:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 7:58am PT

I think what they've done to it is Awful! WHY would you take away user customizing options??? If you want to offer a new look, at least give us the option of keeping the old look that some of us like and are used to. This idea that everything has to conform to some young punks idea of what is fresh and cool is just stupid.

Customizing is KING these days, so why take that away. PLEASE fix this problem or I will look elsewhere.

Tony:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 7:18am PT

Just so the rest of you know, Pale Moon browser. Exactly Firefox before this whole fiasco started. Super easy to import all your FF settings since its the same browser.

Also, my two cents obviously: FF29 - HORRIBLE BETRAYAL. That's why I switched to Pale Moon, it's great. (For some reason works way faster then FF, which is interesting since their almost the same exact code...

K:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 6:14am PT

Firefox 29 is awful. I use it because it's different to Chrome and I don't want it to look the same. The buttons - e.g. refresh - are now all over the place and I can't find a way to customise it back to the way it was. Fortunately I managed to find a complete install set for Firefox 28 and I'll stick with it until Mozilla fix it in release 30

Jeremy:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 4:06am PT

its ok, only real gripe is that the add on's are still busted
also it force me to install it and now i can't see my task bar
so i can't tell what time it is without minimizing the browser
i'm sure they'll fix it soon

rob:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 4:04am PT

since the update i have been having major issues with youtube, as i have a youtube account i check regularly and now i keep getting *500 Internal Server Error*, this did not happen before the update, because of this i have gone back to chrome as at least that actually works like its supposed to.

Polecat:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 3:43am PT

Im installing version 28 and turning off all update options. This 29 version is almost as bad as win 8 is to win 7

Erick:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 2:02am PT

this update is terrible

Nick:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 1:20am PT

Well, since the customizations don't stay between exits and re-starts, they can hardly boast how great their customization mode. Not pleased that my toolbar buttons don't stay where they should.

Surprised:

Posted: 2014-05-13 @ 12:29am PT

At first I couldn't believe it. Just recently I finally let Opera go since the old version is EOL and the new version is a stripped down simpleton disaster.

And now Firefox gets streamlined also. Luckily enough, changes here are much more reasonable, nothing like Opera blunder. Most of the features are still there, it just looks better. And the old look is easy enough to restore with eg. Classic Theme Restorer. Not bad.

RS:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 11:48pm PT

Tabs on top is the show stopper for me, and if I wanted Chrome, I'd use chrome. So, all up I'd give this a D-. Reverted back to 28 and locked it at that.

James:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 10:25pm PT

It looks horrible and I hate using it. Put the Back/Forward buttons back where they were, the stop/refresh where they were, and are in every other browser. I cannot say enough how much I hate that the forward button doesn't really exist and I'm forced - *FORCED* to use the in-address-bar refresh button by Firefox. I will uninstall and revert to an older version. I really don't care about any new features. I just need a web browser that's fast and doesn't crash. And I like my interface very simple: back, forward, stop, refresh, home, address bar, then search bar. I don't want some dinky little "hamburger menu" for customizing the interface. And don't give me rounded Chrome-style tabs or take away the title bar by default. Just give me the original, normal interface.

Mario:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 9:49pm PT

Horrible design! Had to re-install FF28 and disable automatic updates.

Zoe:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 9:34pm PT

It looks so ugly! I didn't even get a choice to update, it just did it for me. Now my nice green is turned into an ugly grey. I used to like firefox because I could really make it mine - but they got rid of so many features I'm considering using chrome. I feel like a loyal fan and my team just decided to forfeit, when I bought year round tickets.

PoisonFox:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 9:06pm PT

Mozilla, why are you now employing only Braille reading coders? Beneath PATHETIC! Hope the next Royal fox hunt, includes you too.

Ernie:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 7:16pm PT

I think it looks great. As far as I'm concerned, I just see a few minor UI tweaks which cleaned things up visually. The deal breaker with other browsers is the lack of a separate search box... thanks to Firefox for still having that.

jose:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 6:53pm PT

I cant even save an image or a web page using 29.

Gabriel:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 6:33pm PT

I think the new interface is great. Congrats to the team!

Hal:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 5:47pm PT

Firefox 29 totally sucks. Won't shut down when closed; must be stopped in task Manager. Looks like a Tinker Toy browser.

Frank:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 5:44pm PT

Too many changes too soon. Some of the add-ons don't work.

a.grey:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 4:10pm PT

FF29 is absolute garbage, and the classc theme restorer is only a bandage... it will break every time mozilla throws another uncalled for change at it.

i'm sticking with FF24 ESR... the old UI, with the security updates. after that goes to australis in a few months, i'll go back to FF28. think it's a security risk? sure, but i know someone still on FF4, and he's happy.

Alex:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 3:28pm PT

I was automatically updated today to the new, Chrome-like interface. I freaked out about the newly rounded tabs and the lack of a 1-click button to open the Bookmarks panel, but I followed the official Firefox guidelines and installed the Classic Theme Restorer add-on. For anyone that hates the new UI, please download that before giving up on Firefox. I changed the tabs back to squares, was able to get back the bookmarks button, and slimmed down and made the overall UI more minimalist than Firefox 28 within a few seconds. I'm pleased overall now, but I think the average user (who can't or doesn't have time to do this) will be greatly affected. :(

Fire Firefox:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 3:22pm PT

The new design is so concerned with graphic nuance that it ends up hurting functionality. Example: The new tabs blend in with the menu bar, and so are harder to spot and click on when needed.

Bad design.

Walter Moore:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 2:51pm PT

My Firefox automatically updated to 29. My wife couldn't handle it. I downloaded and installed 28, then turned autoupdate off. They removed all the customization that I was used to.

Blackout:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 2:49pm PT

The update is, in fact, automatic... May switch to a different browser if this crap keeps up.

stuart:

Posted: 2014-05-12 @ 2:23pm PT

Firefox 29 is simply awful. I hate having the tabs on top and is exactly the reason I have stayed true to Firefox all these years. I've reverted to Firefox 27 and will use that until it breaks then find myself a new browser upon which to swear my allegiance.